Manchester United can qualify for next season's Champions League if they go all the way to the Europa League, but their head coach is not dragged along
Ruben Amorim said that nothing can save the disastrous season of Manchester United and admitted that winning the Europa League will not solve their problems. United takes on Athletic Bilbao on Thursday evening in the first stage of their semi-final of the Europa League, with the winners of the competition that go directly to the Champions League of next season.
Lifting the trophy is United's last chance to secure European football for next season, with Amorim's whimsical side that is currently in 14th place in the Premier League. But Amorim said that even if United wins the Europa League and thereby a ticket of £ 100 million to the Champions League, it will not be a remedy for all their ailments.
“We know that nothing will save our season,” said Amorim. “But this can be huge.
“Winning a trophy to get to the Champions League to play European matches next season can change many things in our club in the summer. But it is not the most important thing.
“It's a little more, in the core of our club. We have to change many things and we have to be consistent.
“Winning the Europa League will not change anything in our problems. It will give us the Champions League next season and more money to spend, but the problems are still there.
“We have to change the thoughts of our fans with consistency, good decisions, good recruitment and a good academy. This is what we have to change to bring our club back to the top.
“This is more a shortcut to go to the European games – nothing more. The problems we have to solve in a different way with more time and we are all very clear about that.”
United has mentioned Matthijs de Ligt and Amad in their traveling team for Bilbao. The couple have both been missing for a few weeks, but can play a role to play on Thursday evening.
Opponents Athletic have got their own injury, where Oihan Sancet is unable to play a role. The 25-year-old, who has 17 goals this season, is confronted with a race by the time to return next week for the second stage in Old Trafford.
“He is excluded for tomorrow,” said Athleto Manager Ernesto Valverde in the run -up to the first stage. “We will see what happens next. We will go for what will work for us.”
Become a member of our new man utd WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose Manchester United -content of Mirror Football. We also deal with our members of the community on special offers, promotions and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can view every time you like. If you are curious, you can read our privacy statement.